Endgame, Part II

This episode is difficult to sit through again. Immediately upon seeing her future self, Captain KATHRYN Janeway beams her onboard. While Voyager was lost well before the infiltration abilities of the Founders became a significant threat, this scene shows how naive Janeway is. She beams over what appears to be a future version of herself and instantly accepts it, instead of isolating her and submitting her to rigorous screening to determine who she is. When Sela appeared in "Redemption, Part 2", Picard was stunned and did not invite her aboard until he learned all he could about the daughter of Tasha.

I feeeeeeeeeeeeel you, Chakooooootay...

So, the two Janeways begin talking, with Future-Kate revealing how Voyager's a museum in San Francisco. Current-Kate doesn't want to hear about it: the Temporal Prime Directive. Kate has no problem spreading Starfleet's ideals with the power of a phaser, but altering the timeline is where she stops. Wow. She destroyed the Caretaker array without a moment's hesitation, and that was a way for them to come home at once. Years later, she has another opportunity, and doesn't want to take it.

Allow me to diverge a moment to Battlestar Galactica, the show which I consider to be "Voyager, but with Ron Moore". At the end of Season 1, the fleet finds the legendary world of Kobol, the homeworld of humanity. Commander Adama, the military head, orders Starbuck to lead a mission to destroy the Cylon basestar in orbit. However, President Roslin, the political head, convinces Starbuck to jump all the way back to Caprica to retrieve an artifact that could potentially lead them to Earth. Outraged at this insubordination, Adama launches a military coup to remove Roslin from power.

Point is, there comes a time in which you need to start questioning your commander's orders. At any given moment during the seven years of Voyager's run, Chakotay and Tuvok should have come to realize that Janeway was hampering their journey and removed her from command. Not using the transwarp drive to get back? Not further examining the slipstream and trying to use it for shorter jumps? Not kissing Q's shoes and begging to be sent home? Anyone of these occurrences should have made the two most competent people on board realize that Janeway's leadership was compromised.

So, after finally verifying her older self (during which the Admiral had plenty of time to sabotage stuff), Admiral Janeway helps Voyager install her future anti-Borg tech, which includes armor and new super-torpedoes. Pay excellent attention to this technology, because even though it is astonishing, it is never seen, mentioned, or used in Nemesis. Seven goes to regenerate and has a vision of the Borg Queen, who tells her that Voyager must avoid the nebula or be destroyed. You know, I must question the tactics of the Borg. I know they are machines and value efficiency, but Voyager has been a thorn in their side for the last three years and now they're heading for a high-security area. Shouldn't the Borg send upwards of fifty cubes to deal with Janeway once and for all? Oh, and there is more stupidity coming up.

We get two filler scenes. I kinda like these two, because it shows the anticipation they have of getting home. However, at the same time, they're praying "Oh God, please don't make Janeway turn this ship around! I told my kid I'd be there for his fifth birthday...seven years ago!" The Chakotay and Seven romance...continues to be out of nowhere. Weren't fans always bettering on Janeway getting with Chakotay? Tom and B'Elanna also get a scene, where she worries she'll deliver in Starfleet Medical instead of sickbay. Eh, moving on.

All Borg to stations. T-minus ten years to
invasion of Earth.

Voyager arrives in the nebula and begins pounding the crap out of the Borg. I mean...wow. A single torpedo is enough to destroy a cube and the armour is impenetrable. You know, these weapons would have been extremely useful a year later when the Enterprise-E was getting its arse kicked by Shinzon. But nope. I guess Starfleet decided to hide these terrible weapons, out of fear for Janeway keeping her hands on them. Another way to help was to give her a desk.

So, they make it to the center of the nebula and find...the most baffling plot hole in Star Trek. Specifically, a transwarp hub that can send the Borg to anywhere in the galaxy within minutes. There are evidently six in the galaxy, with none in the Alpha Quadrant but exit points. Future-Janeway just wants them to use it, but Captain Janeway orders them to leave.

1) Why didn't the Borg use this when they tried to invade Earth, with maybe a hundred ships?
2) Why did Seven tell Janeway there were six and yet later we see four?
3) Why does one of the hubs appear to be the Alpha Quadrant?
4) Why is Future-Janeway so adamantly against destroying a strategic advantage?

Most of these are not answered. The Janeways begin debating whether or not they should destroy the hub. Captain J wants to destroy it and stay in the Delta Quadrant, but the Admiral says that Seven will die in three years. In addition, her death will devastate her husband, Chakotay, who will be devoted to getting Voyager home and then commit suicide after they get there. I have to ask Admiral Janeway why she is so upset that she trying to change the future deaths of 22 additional crewmen before getting home. Losing someone under your command is the biggest nightmare of any command officer in a military. However, aren't you supposed to learn so you don't lose people in the future? Also, Picard, Kirk, and Sisko lost hundreds of people under their command. You never saw them trying to change the past to save them. Especially Sisko! He lost thousands of people and his own bloody ship during the Dominion War! Why didn't he try to change the past? BECAUSE YOU BLOODY WELL SHOULD NOT CHANGE THE PAST!!! GAH!!!

We will scan every star system until we find Earth.
So say we all.

Anyway, the crew works out a plan to destroy the hub, but Voyager will be stuck in the Delta Quadrant. Harry proceeds to make a speech that it's the journey that matters. I don't know, I think the destination has extraordinary significance. Again, in Battlestar Galactica, Adama made a big speech about how they were going to find Earth and it was going to be their new home. The next four seasons had them dodging Cylon attacks and love triangles, but none of that fully mattered since they knew they were going to find Earth. The destination was a symbol of hope and they were willing to back-stab each other to get there.

Back to "BSG sans Ron Moore", the Janeways finally get the idea to use the conduit to get to Earth and destroy it at the same time. Even I came up with that while first watching the episode! After Admiral Janeway flies off to atone for her sins initiate stage one, we get a scene with Seven and Chakotay. Still no idea where this romance comes from! Honestly?! Where?! Meanwhile, B'elanna is going into labor. Interesting how Tom even took part in the betting pool on when his child was going to be born. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but this episode is so stupid I just want it to be over.

Admiral Janeway confronts the Borg Queen and offers to help them in exchange for the Borg dragging Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant. Hmm. Interesting thought that none of the officers have gotten. If they destroy the transwarp network...could that make the Borg so angry that they will throw every single cube they have at Earth?! Amazing. The Federation is still recovering from the Dominion War; I don't think they could survive a massive retaliatory strike against the Alpha Quadrant. But oh well. Admiral Janeway is assimilated (following a one-liner) and infects the Borg with a pathogen that disrupts the Hive Mind. Okay, maybe this will keep the Borg off-balance long enough for the Federation to get ready...wait, whatever happened to the Rebel Borg from Unimatrix Zero...

Tight formation, boys, until we can beam a security team
to capture Janeway.

So, Voyager fires torpedoes and the transwarp network begins to collapse. They hide inside a Borg sphere and emerge in front of a Starfleet armada less than a lightyear from Earth. Remember what I said about why the Borg didn't use this network to send a hundred cubes to Earth instead of one cube and giving Starfleet time to ready its defenses? The Borg: they have all the cold logic of a machine...and yet no logic at all! And so, Voyager gets back, the Paris' daughter is born, and the show ends with the ship arriving at Earth. Yep, it just ends. We never see the crew react to seeing Earth once again. We never see them beam down and be welcomed by Starfleet and their families. It just ends.

This...

Was...

CRAP!

Not as bad as the finale of Enterprise, but still it was crap! There were enough plotholes to sink a ship and once again the Borg are reduced to techno-zombies that can be destroyed if you fire enough lead into them. They are finally and totally destroyed forever. Gone are the days when they instilled fear into the fans. Not so much villains as much as a plot device. Honestly, this show could have ended better, with a true final battle between Voyager and the Borg, aided by the guys from Unimatrix Zero, instead of this idiotic plot about changing the future.

To the fans of Voyager who will decry this and claim that Janeway was being noble, consider this: Voyager got back sixteen years early. That's sixteen years of discoveries made, wars averted, pandemics stopped, children born, lives lived...erased. I would say Janeway was the biggest mistake to be in the Captain's Chair...but after this we got the oh-so horrendous field performance...of Jonathan Archer.

Final Score: 3/10

The crew of Voyager. Where are they now (thanks to Admiral Janeway)?

Janeway became an Admiral, and was later arrested
for supplying Reman rebels.

Upon returning, Seven and Chakotay broke up.
They never spoke again.

Tom wrote a tell-all book about Janeway.
B'elanna was sent to a prison for serving in the Maquis.

The Doctor sued the BBC over the use of his name.
The case was quickly dismissed.

Tuvok was instantly promoted to Captain
for being the most competent person on board.

Harry spent the next thirty years in Starfleet
and never made it past Ensign.